


forget-me-nots

by DepressivePotato



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, Hes a bitch, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Lots of flower references, M/M, Oblivious Tony Stark, Plot Twists, Protective Steve Rogers, Punching, Steve Rogers Feels, Teen Crush, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, because flowers are just....damn, but they are idiota, oh my god they are so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22598500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressivePotato/pseuds/DepressivePotato
Summary: Steve and Tony have been in love for more than 20 years, but neither of them know it yet.Enter, Ransom Rogers....Steve and Tony are just idiots. That’s it, that’s the plot.Lots of flower references because why not.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Ransom Drysdale/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82





	forget-me-nots

**Author's Note:**

> Two bros, chilling in a hot tub, five feet apart cause they haven’t been able to tell each other how they loved one other since they were 5 and now one of them thinks its a good idea to fake date the other’s brother

  
Steve just couldn’t take it anymore.

He saw him smile and effortlessly flirt with strangers; throwing his head back in one of his fake laughs, champagne in hand, radiating an energy that made butterflies go wild in Steve’s stomach. His body was perfectly postured, his grip on the glass a relaxed yet a knowing one. Honestly, Steve was averting his gaze from his ass, cause let’s be honest, thinking his brother pounding into that exact place was not a turn on for him.

Yes, as the magazines had in their front pages for weeks, Ransom Rogers was dating the infamous playboy slash billionaire for 3 weeks now. They looked happy as clams, at least Ransom did, because you could never understand if Tony was really happy or not. He was ridiculously good at hiding his emotions and even Steve, his friend for almost two decades now, couldn’t exactly figure him out from time to time. Sometimes he tried not to.

It drove Steve crazy.

All the stolen kisses in front of cameras, the causal light groping that made Tony’s eyes go wide and oh, when he made that little squeal...

Steve wasn’t crazy.

At least he hoped he wasn’t.

Yes, maybe Steve’s crush on the brunette was not exactly a secret. Everyone seemed to know it expect Tony, at least. But it wasn’t out on the fields, either. Natasha knew it because she knew everything. Sam knew it because he wasn’t blind. Bucky knew it because _come on._

But Tony on the other hand, didn’t. And Steve would like it to stay that way, thank you very much.

What difference would it make? Tony was dating his twin now. His damn twin. That meant it was about the personality, which was a hundred times worse. He had asked his friends for counsel but all he got was “you waited too long, idiot.” Natasha hadn’t even bothered with an answer, she had just snorted and left.

And now, Steve was leaning on the counter, with a shattering grip on his hand, his jaw clenching. He watched Ransom and Tony bid their farewells to the Rich Snob 1 and move on to Rich Snob 2, who was a very old man with a drinking problem. This night was going fan-fucking-tastic.

“What did that champagne glass did to you, man?” Sam asked, chuckling. Unlike Steve, he seemed to have fun. “If you clench your jaw a bit more, you can actually be the first person to shatter your jaw all by yourself.”

“You done?” Steve asked, letting a little smirk lay across his lips. Sam laughed and took a sip of his champagne. 

“Night’s just starting, man.”

“I’d prefer it to end.” Steve said, taking another sip from the expensive champagne. He needed something stronger, if he wanted to end the night with all Ransom’s teeth in their place. “Do you think they give out whiskeys in here?”

“The day Pepper Potts serves anything slightly stronger than mineral water in here, is the day we’ll all reach our damn ends. You can still eat the toiletries down the hall, though, if you want anything stronger.” Sam hated these kinds of parties as much as Steve did. They both grew up in Brooklyn, fighting for their meals. They met at duty; Sam was on the air force, Steve was a captain. After the battle, their paths crossed again at a support group, and they’ve been friends ever since. Now, Sam was helping ex-soldiers with PTSD and Steve was an artist. A lousy story. It was enough to drop chicks and guys at the bar though.

“How do you say we carry this party to somewhere that sells whiskey?” Steve asked, eyeing Tony.

“I’d say hell yes.”

...

  
Of course Ransom had to come.

 _Come on_ , his twin brother had said, smirking the way Steve hated so damn much. _It will be fun. You, me , Tony... Who was that again_?

Of course, Bucky, Sam and Nat wasn’t exactly glad he came. But hey, as long as fists weren’t talking, it was fine to Steve.

“So, birdbrain,” Ransom said, one hand on Tony’s shoulder and one hand wrapped around his glass of whiskey. “So who’s topping between you and Discount Jesus? I bet it’s you.”  
Sam growled, and Bucky... wait, was that a knife?

“How about you mind your own damn business and maybe shut up for a change.” Buck said, and thankfully stopped there. Ransom laughed a bit, his melodic laughter was like someone scratching their nails to a whiteboard to Steve. He crinkled his nose and downed his drink. Maybe he was too drunk, but for a second, he thought Tony was worried. For a damn second.

“Oh, Stevie, slow down. Thought you had the drinking capacity of an old man.” Ransom joked.

“Yeah, not today.” Steve answered, not even bothering to look at his twin. He wanted to take a swing at Ransom so much right now. Just one. So he knew what he felt like.

All those years Ransom tormented him, Steve had never hit Ransom. He was close sometimes, really fucking close, but he never wanted to take a fucking jab and lay him out in the ground more in his fucking life. He tried to calm himself down. Tony’s here, idiot. He’s not gonna be head over heels when he sees you beat up his boyfriend.

His boyfriend.

God damn it.

“Steve, what’s with the long face, huh? You look like you’ve been eating a damn lemon, as mama say.” Ransom smiled, tightening his grip on Tony. Tony wasn’t looking at Ransom, though. He was looking at Steve.

His worried chocolate brown eyes seized him for a moment, his brows shaping a frown Steve knew so well. It was the frown Steve saw every time he accidentally walked into exceptionally stressful SI meetings, or the look he gave to Steve when he heard a loud sound, after Afghanistan.

Now, he was looking at Steve like Steve was the bomb.

“Ransom...” he started, a tweak of concern in his voice. Steve hated himself for causing it. Steve hated himself for waiting that damn long. Steve fucking hated himself because rather than being a supportive friend of Tony’s relationship, he was acting like he had a stick up in his ass, because the truth was he was in love with his twin’s boyfriend.

Didn’t sounded that bad when you say it out loud, right?

“Tony, honey, relax. It’s between Steve and me, ain’t it? You are no part of it.” Tony was a fucking part of it. Tony was the main problem. Tony was why Steve wanted to hit Ransom until blood was pouring out of his mouth.

Instead, he said “yes.” 

That seemed to humor his twin. For whatever reason, every time Steve was with Tony, it seemed so damn fun to Ransom. He always called Tony ‘steve’s little boyfriend’, and it just didn’t make sense to Steve that he suddenly wanted to bang him. Now that he thought of Ransom, it did. Ransom would do anything to rile him, including hurting Tony.

_Hurting tony._

“Tony, hon, why don’t you tell Stevie about our latest adventure. The one with the maid dress.” Ransom started, his eyes gleaming with mischief. He and Thor’s brother Loki would get along quiet well. “We were in a hotel, you know, doing stuff...”

“Ransom-“ Tony said, intrigued. Of course he doesn’t want Ransom telling their sexacapades, Steve thought, his eyes fixed on his drink. He doesn’t want me to hear it because I’ve just been this friend to him, not someone who can know about his dick. Not someone who can make him feel good, make him moan, squirm, make him fall apart in my hands. I can fuck him so much better than Ransom, and he knows it.

“Ransom, shut up.” Tony said, his eyes on Steve’s twin, tired. Steve knew Tony like inside of his hand. Knew his most sensitive points. How his breath hitched when someone whispered into his ear. How his hands worked so beautifully on some piece of metal, how good they would look on Steve. Now, all Steve could think of was that hands on Ransom. Roaming his body. Holding his hands. Whispering to his ear.

  
He just couldn’t fucking take it.

“He said shut up, douchebag.” Steve said, his eyes still fixed on his drink. His voice was low but the couple snapped their heads in his directions. Tony rolled rubbed his eyes with his palms. He did that when he wanted to hide tears. “If he doesn’t want it, you’re not gonna tell it.”

“Why, you’re gonna beat me up? I can take you any damn day, Stevie. You really want to do it in front of him?” He pointed at Tony, and to Steve’s realization, he was already on his feet. Steve stood up slowly, setting the glass aside. He looked at Tony. 

Tony seemed his usual self. Arrogant. Not a care in the world. But Steve knew Tony. The real Tony. The real Tony loved Italian ballads and lullabies. He loved playing the piano. He loved cheeseburgers. He always wore something purple for the 16th of December. He hated cooking, but loved eating. He adored Edith Piaf. He once kicked the prime minister in the shin. His voice was beautiful. His lucky number was the pi. His favorite dessert was chocolate cheesecake with lemon on the top. He loved all kinds of chocolate. He had a stock of mars bars in his workshop. He loved reading comics as a kid. He loved lilacs. He loved the color purple. When he cried, he couldn’t breathe. He had a photo of his mom on his workshop, but not his father’s. He always made sure someone else started before him if he wasn’t eating alone. His eyes wrinkled when he laughed, when he really laughed. He hated horror movies, and he hated romantic movies more. He loved thrillers. He liked physical contact if he trusted the person. He liked hugging. He loved warmth, and hated the cold. He was perfect.

“Guys, stop.” Tony said, his voice small. Steve knew he wanted to look strong, he knew that Tony hated it when his voice broke, he knew Tony hated crying. You don’t have to be that strong with me, Steve thought, I’ll always protect you. “Come on, what are you, fifth graders? Ransom, sit down.”

“Nah, I think Stevie here is forgetting who he is, honey. Why don’t you let me remind him?” Ransom said, taking a step. He wasn’t taking this seriously. He still thinks I’m that weak kid on the playground, Steve thought, clenching his jaw. He doesn’t see a soldier that hurt people. That killed people. “I’m gonna remind him real quick, don’t you worry. Come on Stevie, you aren’t scared, are you?”

“Ransom, fuck, sit DOWN!” Tony yelled and stood up, and that second Steve realized, Tony’s eyes were glassy. He was going to cry, and he wasn’t going to breathe and he would need Jarvis to calm him down, because for some reason he loved Jarvis’ soothing voice, or he was going to need Rhodes, and Steve knew for a fact that Rhodes was at Rome right now-

The first blow landed on Steve’s right cheek, and left a hot pain. Steve staggered a bit.

“RANSOM, DON’T!” Tony shouted.

He was going to kill Ransom.

Steve’s first blow landed on Ransom’s nose, and Steve was sure even the bartender heard the cracking sound. Then, he landed another on his left cheek, grabbed his arm and turned Ransom around. He kicked him from behind, causing him to fall flat on his face. Ransom cried with pain, and attempted to get up. Steve let him. He wanted to have more fun.

His twin staggered and tried to land another blow on his face but Steve was quicker, he escaped the blow and elbowed Ransom’s head. Ransom yelled, and somebody else yelled too, but all Steve saw was Ransom, blood pouring out of his nose and ear, his pained expression, and...

Tony.

Tony was crying.

Tony couldn’t breathe.

And then someone got him from behind, and honestly, Steve didn’t care.

  
...

He looked at Tony, in a beautiful burgundy suit, standing in the doorway. Steve never saw something more alluring. His mind was racing, and his heart was competing against it. He could hear it in his throat and his veins. Luckily, Tony was the one to walk, because Steve’s mind was definitely offline.

“Hey handsome, have a date tonight?” He said, as charming as ever. The words were easy to him. For Steve, they were hard as hell. Especially right now, when he’s staring at the man who has been his crush for more than 10 years, looking like he was sculptured by the Gods. He always looked like this, but today, they were dates.

Prom dates.

Of course, Steve knew it wasn’t real. They were both too lazy to find a date, and decided to go together. Steve secretly turned down three people that asked him, but Tony was one of the hottest, scratch that, the hottest guy in school. He must’ve had like 500 people waiting on his door. But every time Steve asked, he just said nobody wanted to go with him because he’s an awful dancer. Steve knew that was a lie because 1) tony was an amazing dancer and 2) he always bit his lip when he lied. Steve decided to let it go this time because like any sane person, he would never say no to go to the prom with his crush. Ever.

“Depends on your car.” Steve answered, his brain finally finding the right words. “You look amazing, Tony.”

Oh shit.

RETREAT! I REPEAT, RETREAT!

“Not so bad yourself, Rogers.” He said, smiling. Oh god, the familiar lips Steve thought about so much curved so slightly, and Tony looked at him with his honey eyes. If Steve got through this night, the U.S. army should give him a fucking medal or something. “Are those for me,” Tony said, looking at the forget-me-nots, “or are you saving them for the next more handsome person to get through your door?”

“Fo-for you.” Steve stuttered, and looked at the flowers. They were blue, Steve’s favorite color. He tried to calm himself down and put the little flowers into Tony’s breast pocket. His breath hitched.

After a long night of digging through the internet, he found out the beautiful flower meant true, undying love. Just like Steve’s love, but Tony didn’t need to know that. He just needed to know they were blue flowers.

“These are beautiful Steve. Thank you.” Tony said, his voice warm honey. Steve knew he didn’t pretend. Not around Steve. Steve was the only place Tony could ever be himself without pretending. 

Well, maybe not everything.

“Wanted to go all the way, huh? Traditional.” Tony muttered, his eyes stuck in the flowers. He knew what they meant, and he hoped Steve didn’t buy them to honor the Armenian genocide.

“Yeah, we get one prom, don’t we? Shall we?” Steve announced and held out his arm. Tony smiled.

...

  
Sadly, Steve woke up.

It took him a moment to understand where he was, and a moment more to understand who was treating his wounds. It was the guy he’s been in love with for roughly 20 years, the guy he always spiraled back, and the guy he would always protect.

Oh, so that was what happened.

He grunted loudly and heard a small yelp. Tony was sure aware of his awake if he wasn’t before. He tried to open his eyes again and partly succeeded, enough to see Tony holding a bloody cotton in his hand.

“Ow,” he said audibly, and tried to get up. A warm hand on his skin stopped him. Tony was always warm.

“Don’t get up, dumbass. You were literally thrown into the streets and Ransom got to kick you there. Bucky almost killed him.” His voice was gruffly and tired. Steve lay back down, but not so down that he couldn’t see Tony. “ He was too beaten up anyway, they dropped him at the hospital. The nose is definitely broken.”

The silence stretched long. Steve stared at Tony under dim lights. 

“Then why aren’t you with him?” he asked. 

Again, the silence. 

“I can go, if that’s what you want.” Tony shot back. He knew that wasn’t what Steve wanted. He knew he looked for an explanation, and he deserved one. He deserved everything.

“You know that’s not what I want.” Steve answered, his voice low. They waited. For some reason, New York was as quiet as it could be. 

“I like you.” Tony said, hopelessly.

“I like you too.” Steve answered again.

They waited a bit more. The cotton was still on Tony’s hand.

“I love you.” Tony said.  
  
Steve thought his heart stopped beating.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Steve listened to the cruel silence. He hoped that Tony wasn’t kidding. He hoped that he knew what he was saying right now. Because those three words could simply stop his heart beating and his brain stop working. That three words were the only words Steve ever wanted to hear his whole life. And here they were.

“I’m sorry.” Tony said. Steve could see his eyes were glassy even though the lights were weak. Tony was crying, and it was because of him. “I’m really sorry.”

“Why?” Steve asked. Probably because he was dating his twin. That made sense.

“For everything. For not telling you sooner. For playing some kind of stupid game, thinking it would make you like me. Love me. I was really fucking stupid, weren’t I? Thinking you could actually love me. For years.” Tony’s breath hitched. Steve saw one tear drip down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Tony, what are you talking about?” Steve asked. His mind was dizzy. He had just woken up and his lifelong crush just confessed his love to him. And he was probably on lots of painkillers. He was pretty sure this was all a dream. A cruel dream, and it would probably end with Ransom walking in and him kissing Tony. And then Tony would say, “Wait, you didn’t actually think I could love you, right? Me, Tony Stark?” And they would start to laugh, and Steve would wake up.

Ransom didn’t show up, Tony didn’t start laughing, and Steve didn’t wake up.

“Steve, I swear it wasn’t real. Oh god, how stupid am I? Really how fucking dumb am...”

“Tony.” Steve said, straightening up. Tony didn’t try to stop him. He was busy wiping away his tears.

Steve gathered his courage. “Tony.” He repeated. His face was so close to his, he could feel his breath. Tony didn’t stop him. He only looked at Steve’s piercing blue eyes. The eyes he looked at almost 20 years. The eyes he always felt safe with. 

Then Steve kissed him.

He kissed him through salty tears and champagne. Steve’s mouth tasted copper and champagne with a hint of something stronger. They kissed slowly and afraid, Steve kissed Tony like he was afraid he would break and Tony kissed Steve like he was afraid of him leaving. They kissed so long and so short, through both of their tears. The time stretched and it felt like an eternity, but also it felt like a millisecond. Tony’s mouth was warm. Tony was always warm.

They were out of breath.

“I love you too,” Steve said. He would kill for this to not be a dream. “Dumb ass.”

“Jerk.” Tony responded, smiling through his tears.

Next morning, they talked about everything.

Of course, Ransom hopped on a chance to drive Steve up to the wall. Tony’s main goal was not actually hurt Steve, but forget him. Forget he loved him. Through middle school, high school and every day since then. He thought he would hurt their relationship as friends because let’s face it, someone like Steve Rogers wouldn’t like someone like Tony Stark.

“Why?” Steve had asked.

Because he was broken. He was far too broken to be fixed. Steve was... perfect. He loved helping people, he did charity as often as he could, he was great on soothing panic attacks. He was a shitty actor, he couldn’t lie to save his life. He loved dogs and made great donations to shelters. He was a die-hard feminist. He was stubborn as a goat, maybe even more. He was clumsy as hell sometimes. His favorite color was baby-blue. He threw his head back when laughed and he laughed with his whole body. He had that move called “The Boob Grab” which he grabbed his boob or others boobs when he laughed. One time, he grabbed Natasha’s boob and Natasha almost killed him. They all laughed at it.

They laughed again, remembering it.

“Why did you wait this long?” Steve asked.

“Why did you?” Tony asked again.

Steve kissed him again.

  
...

Nobody was that surprised when they saw Steve and Tony walking into the apartment, holding hands.

“You guys are idiots.” Natasha said.

“Finally.” Sam and Bucky groaned, and Bucky rolled his eyes as Sam made a thumbs up.

“Wait, weren’t you dating already?” Clint asked, some colorful cereal in his mouth.

“Shut up.” Tony and Steve said in unison. They smiled at each other after.

“Disgusting.” Natasha remarked, and took a sip of her smoothie. “Absolutely disgusting.”

......,

Ransom Rogers’ apartment was dark and modern, with a monstrous TV on the wall and a grey massive couch sitting right in front of it. There were very graphic modern art on the walls too, the kind always froze Tony’s blood when he saw them. Whenever he came in with Steve for some ridiculous reason like his mail ending up in Steve’s apartment because Ransom was a dick, Tony would sit on the couch and wait for Steve and Ransom’s screaming match to end.

They never kissed when they were alone, or there weren’t cameras nearby.

The plan was simple; Tony had spent all his life in front of cameras, and it wasn’t strange that most of his relationships ended because there were too many cameras flashing in their faces. And Tony would literally do anything to keep Steve safe. 

Smiling with Ransom to the cameras was easy. Even if Tony wasn’t a big fan of Ransom, he was pretty funny when he wanted to be, and he had amazing remarks on people’s asses. Tormenting Steve was his favorite activity other than posing for cameras, so he had agreed in a heartbeat. Just one rule: this wasn’t real.

Ransom was not in love with Tony, he knew that. Tony was too naive for his own like. He also had a penis, which was a real turn off for Ransom. This was just a fun experiment, nothing more than a rile against his brother. He had nothing to do with Tony, honestly. He had to admire the ass, though.

“Steve, what brings you to my house? Not a key, I suppose, since I didn’t give you one.” Ransom entered the living room, bandaging on his nose. He looked as annoying as ever. 

“I have one, so I can take you to the hospital if you OD again.” Steve said, as annoying as Ransom, and winced. Not a good memory, for both of them. Steve was absolutely devastated in the hospital corridors and Tony didn’t know what to do other than take him to his lap and run his hand through his hair. It was horrible.

“Well, that was... what, 3 times?” Ransom said, moving onto the kitchen, which looked more like a bar, and as Tony knew, contained enormous amounts of alcohol. “What, you’re here to get your ass beaten again?” He offered a glass of whiskey to his twin, but Steve shook his head. 

“Look, Ransom...”

“Tony, what are you doing here?” Ransom said, his eyes saying ‘ _are we still game?_ ’

Tony took small steps till he reached Steve, and held his hand. “It’s over, Ransom.” He told him, and smiled at Steve. Steve smiled in return, and lightly squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. 

“Oh thank god.” Ransom answered, and downed his drink in one. “I was getting real tired of grabbing your ass,” he took a step and shook Tony’s hand, businesslike. “And I was getting real tired of this idiot being oblivious as hell. I mean, Tony could’ve asked you to screw him and you would say let me grab my screwdriver first. I can’t believe that someone that shares the same genes as me can be this dumb.” Tony laughed and Steve smiled. “Ugh, you guys are so in love, it’s disgusting.”

“Shut up.” They said in unison, and kissed. Ransom made a gagging sound.

...

  
“Steve, we’re not gonna be shot at our wedding, relax.” Tony said, and rolled his eyes at Steve’s furious glance. “The most feral thing there is gonna be Aunt Tilda and probably Natasha, and two psychos equal no psychos. Though Aunt Tilda might get out on top, if she brought her 5 inch heels with the gems on it. They cut good.”   
5 seconds later, he realized that wasn’t helping his fiancée at all, so he stopped messing with his tie and started messing with Steve’s. “Relax. This is going to be magical. I am 98% sure that Ransom is not going to kill anyone and if he tries to, Bucky would be more than happy to help us. Aunt Tilda is going to snooze off 8 minutes after the ceremony starts, and Natasha promised she won’t spill blood anywhere. I have to get her a Louis bag.” He kneaded Steve’s arms softly, and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you.”

Steve looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. He was.

“I love you too.”

The door came swinging open, and they saw Ransom, holding a bottle of whisky.   
“THE GROOM AND THE GROOM!” He yelled, clearly drunk as...his usual self. “I PRONOUNCE YOU AS GROOM AND GROOM!” His black suit...BLACK SUIT?!

“Ransom, why the hell you’re not wearing the navy suit? I had it in your dressing room!” Tony exclaimed and Steve let his head fall onto his knees.

“This is going to be a disaster,” said Steve, and smiled slightly. “But none of it really matters if I’m marrying you.” Tony smiled as bright as the sun. He loved this man. He was capable of loving someone this deep, more than anyone, more than himself.

Fuck you, Ty.

“Hey, it’s starting guys.” Sam peeked out from the door, in his navy suit. His gaze reverted to Ransom for a moment, but the sight was not bizarre, to be honest. So he grabbed him by his shirt collar and got him out of the room. Steve was more than thankful.

“YOU GUYS ARE SO IN LOVE, IT’S DISGUSTING!” Ransom yelled from the corridor, and Tony heard a loud crashing sound.

“Did he just fall from the stairs?”

“Do you care?”

.....

Tony walked down the aisle, in the arms of his Rhodeybear.

(“ _I’m not crying.” The Soldier had said, wiping tears away from his face. “I’m allergic to flowers.”_

_“You’re allergic to forget-me-nots?”)_

His baby blue suit had a burgundy tie, his favorite color mixing with Steve’s. The garden was decorated with forget-me-nots and red roses along baby’s breaths. Tony’s mother always said that flowers meant more than words, and kept a bouquet of purple myrtles and lavenders at the grand salon at all times. When she fought Howard, she filled the house with peonies, representing the anger deep in her soul. Or Tansies, if she was furious. Of course, Howard never understood any of those meanings, but his mom did. That’s what mattered. Tony looked at the little honeysuckles that hanged from the walls of the mansion. That was their new home, the home he’ll live with Steve. His real home.

Rhodes whispered “I’m always here.” To Tony, and silently took his place beside him, next to Pepper. Tony smiled. The man that had been by his side since he was a crazy 5 year-old, trying to build empires from sandcastles. The man that saved him from an abusive relationship that almost got him killed, because he was the only one Tony ever told. The man that has been a brother, a father, a mother and a friend to Tony since Tony knew himself. Thank you, he mouthed, and felt a familiar ache on his nose, the one you get before you cry. He looked at his husband. Steve looked...

Steve looked in love.

Tony didn’t listened to a word the pastor said. He looked at Steve, and Steve looked at him. His voice was distant to him, but also the “I do.” Was the most right thing he has ever said in his life.  
Steve’s “I do.” Was loud and clear and in love, and when they kissed, their souls melt into each other. Tony loved this man.

He really did.

....

  
“If I could get everyone’s attention? Thank you.” Bucky said, standing up. Steve looked puzzled. Bucky hated talking to crowds and if the said crowd contained more than 20 -‘boomers’, Bucky said- he literally needed a leash to stay there. Instead, there he was, with a glass of champagne in his hand and a smile tugging at his lips.

“I first met Steve many, many years ago. We couldn’t even form sentences back then, but somehow, that punk became my best friend. He had a taste for fights. And lemme say, that wasn’t really ideal thinking he weighted less than a 4-year old when he was 8. So, I stuck around. And that was the best damn decision I’ve ever done in my whole goddamn life.” An elbow to the stomach. “Besides meeting Sam, light of my life.” Laughter.

“Steve loves hard, and through the whole time I knew him, he ever only loved one person. Since grade school, through middle school, high school, and everyday since then. He dated one or two people, but it always ended fast. Every time I asked him why, he always said ‘you know why.’. And I did.”

“I met Tony when we were second graders. He was in detention room because of cussing the teacher out. That little Tones Stevie always told me about, I was curious, of course. Whole detention, we switched notes. None of us knew what was love back then, so we became good friends. In 7th grade, Tony crashed at my house because his dad kicked him out. When I asked why didn’t he go to Steve, he answered ‘Because I didn’t want to hurt him.’ “ Tony looked at Steve and felt tears prickling his eyes. He remembered that night, crying to Bucky and Steve coming in, regardless of Tony’s begging for him not to. They hugged tight and Steve told him that Howard’s not gonna hurt him anymore, because he wouldn’t let him.

“High school, sophomore year. We were looking at the sky at that empty field, near Bob’s. I never saw anyone look at each other that way, till I met Sam, in the support group. Then I got why they looked into each other like that. That’s how you look at someone you’re so deeply in love with.” Awww’s. Sam smiling. Tony and Steve looking at each other the same way they did that day. The sky was pink and blue and purple, and they were young. They loved each other, and it scared them.

It didn’t scare them anymore.

People applauded, and Bucky made a little bow. As he sat back down, Steve hugged him tight, and muttered ‘ _thank you_ ’. Tony looked at the forget-me-not at his breast pocket.

“I love you,” he told Steve.

“I love you.” Steve told him.

Ransom burped loudly.

**Author's Note:**

> i love flowers if u couldn’t tell
> 
> and cevans as ransom is just....wow
> 
> p.s. u matter ur great love u


End file.
